In the following discussion, certain articles and methods are described for background and introductory purposes. Nothing contained herein is to be construed as an “admission” of prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to demonstrate, where appropriate, that the articles and methods referenced herein do not constitute prior art under the applicable statutory provisions.
Taking a gene chip as an example, current microarray chip comprises a substrate and a coverslip. The substrate is often a standard slide with the size of 1 inch by 3 inch, and the coverslip is often a flat plastic or glass plate. There exist several shortcomings for the existing microarray chips. First, because of the short depth of the hybridization solutions, relatively fewer molecules can participate in the hybridization reactions, resulting in lower hybridization signals. Second, because a standard-sized slide is used, a relatively large amount of sample is needed to cover the slide, which may result in wasting precious and/or expensive samples. Third, when multiple samples are analyzed on a single slide, cross-contamination can easily occur and reduce reliability of the assay. Fourth, when multiple samples are analyzed on a single slide, it is often necessary to search for microarray locations for attaching probes thereupon, rendering the operation inconvenient and reducing speed and reliability of assay. Fifth, after the hybridization solution is injected to the slide, the coverslip is then positioned to the slide, requiring users to take enough care to avoid producing bubbles. Thus, there is room for improvement in the current microarray chip design.